A new high-end Japanese-style restaurant is slated to come to downtown Glenview and for the second time in less than a year, the Village is spending millions of dollars with Chicago-based Ballyhoo Hospitality to bring a stylish new eatery to the community.
The Glenview Village Board during its June 4 meeting voted 6 to 0 to enter into a redevelopment agreement with Ballyhoo Hospitality (legally called 1822 Glenview Properties, LLC and 1822 Glenview Operations, LLC in the agreement) to open a Japanese restaurant called, Zenzi Den, in the 1800 block of Glenview Road in downtown Glenview. Construction is expected to start next year.
The total cost of construction and buildout on the parcel of land at 1822 to 1826 Glenview Road, is estimated to be approximately $4.5 million. It may sound like a lot but Ballyhoo is getting big financial help from the Village, which is kicking in millions of dollars into the redevelopment deal.
Village trustees say such deals are a good investment and risk if they spur downtown development and help turn Glenview into a top-notch north shore dining and shopping destination and the taxes that would bring.
“Part of what we are doing in addition to good fiscal stewardship … we are trying to make investments in the future of Glenview using part of the proceeds from an investment that our prior village leaders made,” Village President Michael Jenny said at the June 4 meeting.
The Village money in the agreement comes from the “permanent fund,” established in 1996 as part of “The Glen” residential redevelopment project, said Jeff Brady, Director of Community Development in Glenview. In 1996 developers gave 20 % of the proceeds from the sale of land within “The Glen” to the Village’s permanent fund to be used for economic development outside “The Glen,” like the Ballyhoo restaurant, roadway improvements, and storm and sanitary sewer improvements.
The Zenzi Den restaurant agreement says the Village will pay the $1 million-plus cost of the property, provide an $875,000 “acquisition loan” secured by a mortgage paid back at 6 % interest over 10 years and a $175,000 “acquisition grant,” a memo from village staff to the Board says.
Ballyhoo and Village funds will be placed in escrow drawn upon to reimburse project costs as the redevelopment project progresses, Ballyhoo has to remodel the building and pay any construction costs associated with a building addition “in accordance with the applicable development review process, as well as the ongoing maintenance and operation of the new restaurant.”
Glenview has also given millions of dollars from “The Glen” agreement to other businesses in the village, moving some to say Glenview needs to be much more transparent when pouring millions of dollars in “public money” into deals.
“There are details that are not submitted,” said William Seitz, who had been in litigation with the Village on another matter. “The owner of the LLC? The budget? How the interest rate was derived?”
“There are various things that relate to this project that are not set forth, that really need to be set forth for the public,” he added. “This is public money. When you’re spending public money, and 100 % of this purchase price is public funding … Glenview doesn’t have a program for loans. It doesn’t have a program for grants. It needs to set forth an ordinance to do so and make it available for any restaurateur who wants to apply for a loan to potentially get involved in a program.”
The storefront building housing the Morning Glory Flower Shop at 1822 Glenview Road and two adjacent storefronts will be demolished to make room for the new restaurant.
“It’s not great having to move,” said Barbara Hausheer, owner of the Morning Glory Flower Shop at that location for 20 years and in Wilmette before that. “Hopefully this will be good for the community. We’ll see. We are planning on staying in Glenview.”
The agreement with Ballyhoo to open Zenzi Den is the second in less than a year Glenview has done with the Chicago-based Ballyhoo to open a hot new eatery in the village. The board in September voted in favor of a resolution authorizing the execution of a redevelopment agreement, a loan agreement, and an inter-creditor agreement with Ballyhoo, and Gold Coast Bank, to build a high-end restaurant called Jackman & Co. now under construction at 1749 Glenview Road. Glenview has also spent millions of dollars from the “permanent fund” to attract other businesses to the community.
“This is for our kids and our kids’ kids so that our community can remain the ‘go to’ community in the north suburbs,” Jenny said. “That’s what we want.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance writer for Pioneer Press.
